It’s not a matter of if but when for the two legends. The Chicago Blackhawks have predictably been one of the very worst teams in the NHL this season, leaving little doubt that they will trade away their two icons: Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
You’ve got to feel a little bad for Toews and Kane in this situation.
The pair have given their all for this classic, Original-6 franchise and brought the Blackhawks from the pit of irrelevance into one of the most popular and beloved NHL franchises with their 2010’s dynasty. Lead by the two superstars, the Chicago Blackhawks underwent their most successful spell in the NHL since Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull were suiting up for the team with 3 Stanley Cup wins (2010, 2013, 2015), 1 President’s Trophy win (2013), and 3 division titles (2010, 2013, 2017).
The Blackhawks would not be nearly as iconic nor as popular with the casual NHL fans, from both North American and around the world, if it wasn’t for the ingenuity of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Both of these players will go down as the two of the best Chicago Blackhawks of all-time (if not the best in some people’s opinion).
But with such success comes the inevitability of two things: massive paydays and massive team regression.
Okay, I’m not saying that the Blackhawks shouldn’t have paid Toews and Kane their then-NHL record breaking 8-year, $84M contracts as they most certainly should have. These two players were more than worth the money as they were able to bring the Blackhawks yet another Stanley Cup (2015) and recorded a combined total of 1,275 points (Toews: 497; Kane: 778) in the time after the contracts were signed.
As their career totals, Patrick Kane currently has 434 G, 768 AST, 1,202 PTS, and has won the Calder Trophy (2008), Conn Smythe trophy (2013), the Hart Memorial Trophy (2016), the Ted Lindsay Award (2016), and the Art Ross Trophy (2016). Meanwhile, Jonathan Toews currently has 367 G, 502 AST, and 869 PTS, and has won the Con Smythe trophy (2010), the Mark Messier Leadership Award (2015), and the Frank J. Selke Trophy (2013).
Needless to say, these two players have been fantastic throughout their careers…and are the only players worth something on this Chicago team.
With Father Time and his indestructible touch having decimated all of the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2010 dynasty, the only two players worth anything for the Blackhawks to sell off for future picks and prospects are their two franchise icons. Plus, like I said, Toews and Kane make a whole lot of money and take up a decent chunk of the Blackhawks’ salary cap, which is an even bigger reason why Chicago needs to move these players on.
With the mismanagement of former GM Stan Bowman taking its full effect in the Blackhawks’ dire salary cap situation, any relief the current generation of Blackhawks hierarchy can get should and will be pounced upon. And that is going to have to come in the form of trading Toews and Kane.
Now, if I was the Blackhawks, I would wait until a month or so before the trade deadline to move on from the two legends as not only will their stock have risen (as long as they are still healthy) from more recorded points, but also many of the other NHL teams will not have bumped themselves right next to the cap with other transactions as they do at the trade deadline.
Given the pairs’ $10M cap hit, the Blackhawks are already going to have to eat up 50% of the salary to even think about trading them. And there’s no guarantee that there will be enough high-caliber teams in the NHL with enough cap space to take on Kane and Towes as they will undoubtably only waive their no-trade clauses for contending teams.
Thus, if I was in charge of the team, I would move out the stars as spring comes around (app. March 1st).
Though, the next big question that would remain is where would Kane and Toews go? That’s a much tougher question as the only teams with enough cap space, tradable assets, and a high contending status right now (in my quick scan) would be the Bruins, the Hurricanes, the Rangers, the Red Wings, the Kings, and possibly the Flames.
All good teams with the potential to win the Stanley Cup, but will Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane want to go there? I’ve got no answer for that question.
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